In a bid to boost cooperation between India and the United Arab Emirates for reducing the cost of labor force recruitment in the domestic workers segment, a delegation from the UAE Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation met officials of the Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs in New Delhi on March 18.

The officials of the two countries discussed ways to improve mechanisms for hiring and recruiting workers to the UAE from India, according to WAM news agency.

Officials from the two countries discussed the online system being developed to improve the labor recruitment processes between UAE and India. The visit was part of UAE’s efforts to develop prospects of cooperation with India, a nation that is among the most prominent global labor-exporting markets.

Officials from both countries are keen to complete the procedures for the e-system project, Omar Alnuaimi, assistant undersecretary for communication and international relations at Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation, who led the delegation visiting India, said.

Alnuaimi added that a discussion was held on reducing costs of recruiting domestic workers and activating co-operation between Tadbeer, a new network of recruitment centers to be launched soon, and the government employment agencies in India to recruit workers in the country, the report added. The UAE ministry had last year announced that Tadbeer centers would replace domestic worker recruitment agencies. The centers would guarantee proper visa, orientation and training for the workers, Saqr Ghobash, the Minister of Human Resources and Emiratisation had said, according to an earlier report by the Khaleej Times.

Work is being done by both the countries to develop an electronic system that will connect the embassies, and help regulate the recruitment of contractual laborers from India to the UAE. In accordance to a memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed between India and UAE during Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit on Feb. 11, the UAE is coming up an online portal to hire Indian workers.

The UAE’s system will be linked with eMigrate, which is India’s online system that addresses the issues faced by Indian workers related to the employment abroad, recruiting agents, employers and illegal agents. Job aspirants from India will now not only be able to submit their applications, but also be able to assess the terms and conditions of the contract of the job from India through this portal.

India was the top remittance receiving nation from migrant workers living in the United Arab Emirates in the fourth quarter of 2017, revealed statistics from the gulf nation’s monetary authority. India received a total of Dh14.8 billion, which comprised 34.2 per cent of the total remittances worth Dh43.2 billion during the fourth quarter, reported Khaleej Times.